The Boston Globe reports today that priest James J. Scahill says the reaction to his Sunday sermon, in which he called for the pope to resign over his handling of clergy sexual abuse, has been "overwhelmingly supportive."Read the entire story in today's Boston Globe ...

"History and commonsense tell us that ancient, rigid, secretive cultures change very slowly, especially when the basic structure causing and sanctioning hurtful behaviors doesn’t change at all. A dictator abuses power because he can. He can promise reform, but if he remains a dictator, it’s naïve to expect real change." SNAP President Barbara Blaine

According to a reporter for the Italian Roman Catholic website Pontifex who interviewed Italian Bishop Giacomo Babini, the bishop said during the interview that Jews “do not want the Church, they are its natural enemies”. He added: “Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are deicides [God killers].”

Babini denied he had made any anti-Semitic remarks, and was backed by the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), saying: “Statements I have never made about our Jewish brothers have been attributed to me.”

However, Bruno Volpe, who interviewed Babini for Pontifex, confirmed that the bishop had made the statement, which was reported widely in the Italian press today. Pontifex threatened to release the audio tape of the interview as proof.

Three Catholic authors speak out on the urgent necessity of radically changing a Catholic Church government that has taken its moral codes and orthodoxy to hideous extremes, and with impunity.

"The Vatican must realize that the church’s belligerent, resentful and paranoid response to the global scandal is not working because it now says it will cooperate with secular justice systems and that the pope will have more meetings with victims. It is too little, too late." -- NY Times, April 11, 2010

Vatican spokesperson Ciro Benedettini, said a letter published in the NYTimes, signed by Ratzinger, and which clearly shows that Ratzinger delayed the defrocking of a pedophile priest for 2-6 years, showed no attempt at a cover-up, but merely showed "the need to study the case with more attention, taking into account the good of all involved."

Here is the paragraph from the letter, translated from Latin by the Times, in which Ratzinger listed "all involved" who would benefit from his judgment. They are:

"The Universal Church;"

"The petitioner" (in other words, the pedophile asking for laicization); and

The church hierarchy, fearing "that granting the dispensation can provoke the community of Christ's faithful."

"This court, although it regards the arguments presented in favor of removal in this case to be of grave significance, nevertheless deems it necessary to consider the good of the Universal Church together with that of the petitioner, and it is also unable to make light of the detriment that granting the dispensation can provoke with the community of Christ's faithful, particularly regarding the young age of the petitioner." -- Joseph Ratzinger

Vatican spin specialist, Federico Lombardi, commenting on the report yesterday that documents confirm Ratzinger was directly involved in protecting a convicted pedophile priest, said it was wrong to draw conclusions based on one letter, without carefully understanding the context in which it was written.

“It’s evident that it’s not an in-depth and serious use of documents,” Lombardi said.

In a signed 1985 letter received by the NY Times, Joseph Ratzinger, later Benedict XVI, ordered delaying the defrocking of an Oakland, California priest convicted of pedophilia in 1978. The priest was finally defrocked in 1987.

"Bishop Cummins had first petitioned the doctrinal office to defrock Mr. Kiesle in 1981. He also wrote directly to Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Ratzinger requested more information, which officials in the Oakland Diocese supplied in February 1982. They did not hear back from Cardinal Ratzinger until 1985, when he sent the letter in Latin suggesting that his office needed more time to evaluate the case." -- NYTimes, 09 April 2010.

According to records published today by the NYTimes, Kiesle was convicted of sexually abusing young boys between the ages of 11 and 13 in 1978. His bishop wrote the Vatican to have him defrocked -- which Kiesle himself demanded -- in 1981. Ratzinger responded in 1985, and Kiesle was defrocked in 1987.

Here are longer excerpts, followed by a link to the entire article and to SNAP's response.

"In August of 1978 he was arrested by the police and charged with having taken sexual liberties with at least six young men ranging from eleven to thirteen years of age during the period of November 1977 through May 1978. When he appeared in court, Father Kiesle pleaded "nolo contendere" (no contest) to the charges."

... "Given all the circumstances surrounding this case and Father Kiesle's irrevocable decision to leave the active ministry, it would seem to me most prudent that his petition be granted.

"Therefore, since all of these things are attested to in the Acts of the case, it is our opinion that this case should be submitted to you with the petition that Father Stephen Kiesle be relieved of all of the obligations of the priesthood."

-- John S. Cummins, Bishop of Oakland, 19 June 1981.

"This court, although it regards the arguments presented in favor of removal in this case to be of grave significance, nevertheless deems it necessary to consider the good of the Universal Church together with that of the petitioner, and it is also unable to make light of the detriment that granting the dispensation can provoke with the community of Christ's faithful, particularly regarding the young age of the petitioner. "

-- (signed) Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, November, 1985.

Kiesle was defrocked in 1987, 2 years after Ratzinger's reaction to the case, and 9 years after Kiesle's conviction as a pedophile.

A British news commentator, writing in the Guardian this week, claims that the Vatican, and the pope can no longer ignore international law, which now counts the widespread or systematic sexual abuse of children as a crime against humanity. Therefore, the claim of the Vatican to be a state – and of the pope to be a head of state and hence immune from legal action – cannot stand up to scrutiny.

But the commentary goes even further, suggesting that the diplomatic immunity of the Vatican "state" itself is in question.

Former Bush administration lawyer John B Bellinger III, in 2005, had certified that Pope Benedict the XVI was immune from suit "as the head of a foreign state" when the pope and his entourage came to America. Bellinger is now notorious for his defence of Bush administration torture policies. His opinion on papal immunity is even more questionable. It hinges on the assumption that the Vatican is a state.

"But the papal states were extinguished by invasion in 1870 and the Vatican was created by fascist Italy in 1929 when Mussolini endowed this tiny enclave – 0.17 of a square mile containing 900 Catholic bureaucrats – with "sovereignty in the international field ... in conformity with its traditions and the exigencies of its mission in the world."

"The pope’s reluctance to take a firm stance on sexual abuse by priests is expanding into a crisis for the Catholic Church and fueling outrage over his papacy. Some Catholics are now even calling on Benedict, who has committed a series of gaffes since becoming pope in 2005, to resign." -- German Newspaper Der Speigel 06 April 2010

Pope Benedict and the Vatican have come under growing criticism as allegations of clergy sex abuse have spread across Europe. Some of the cases have raised questions about whether Pope Benedict did enough to root out pedophile priests under his watch before he became pope.

Senior British lawyers are now examining whether the pope should have immunity as a head of state and whether he could be prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction for an alleged systematic cover-up of sexual abuses by priests.Read the full story in today's Washington Post.

The Huffington Post reports today that in an Easter Sunday interview with Ian Masters on KPFK Los Angeles earlier today, Catholic author and former Paulist priest James Carroll (Practicing Catholic; Constantine's Sword; Toward A New Catholic Church) calls for all Catholics begin acting as if the reforms of Vatican II are reality.

Carroll calls on Catholics to break ranks with what he calls a "corrupt, pope-centered clerical system" at the root of the clergy sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.

The reports that Pope Benedict had mishandled a clergy sex abuse case when he was archbishop of Munich have sharpened the focus of international attention on the Pope, the Vatican and the seemingly perpetual problem of clergy sex abuse in the Catholic Church. This revelation coincided with what some believed might be the culmination of the furor in Ireland by the pope’s Pastoral Letter to the Irish People. Questions about the Munich case and the mixed reception of the papal letter have guaranteed that critical interest will intensify rather than recede.

First, a brief summary of what I suspect happened in Munich back in 1980. The priest in question was credibly accused of sexually molesting two minors. His bishop arranged for him to go from his home diocese, Essen, to Munich, to receive treatment. Read More...

I’m excited to report that we have a great turnout for our Day of Rest and Relaxation this Saturday. I assure you that you will be glad you signed up.

This professionally-facilitated day has been developed to honor YOU and meet you where you are in your healing. It is not structured like an ordinary support group meeting. You can share as little or as much as you are comfortable. There are many of you who haven’t come to a support meeting. You just might find this Saturday’s event an easier introduction to SNAP DFW as there will be several brand new attendees. Moreover, I would really like to meet you.

I will be very happy to welcome you all, both survivors and those with loved ones who were abused. Let's all have a great day honoring each other and our fellow survivors everywhere.Lisa KendziorSNAP DFW

"Contrary to what a few in Rome are saying, we are not "ignoble," "despicable" or engaging in "petty gossip." We are men, women and children who are in deep pain, having been raped, sodomized and assaulted by Catholic clergy and often betrayed by Catholic officials. Our trauma - past and present - should never be trivialized by anyone, much less by those who profess to be caring shepherds." -- Barbara Blaine, SNAP President

Preaching to those gathered in St Peter's square during a Palm Sunday service, the pope, trivialized the global cries of the sexually abused victims of Roman Catholic priests and of the hierarchy that protects them, saying he would not allow himself "to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion".

Former San Francisco archbishop William Levada, who now heads Ratzinger's former Vatican office once know as the Inquisition, is accused of sitting on clergy sex abuse reports by 67 deaf men and women for months until pressured by news media. The Italian case has eerie echoes of the investigation of a Wisconsin priest accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys.

The BBC has raised the question of whether Pope Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger should resign over the snowballing paedophile priest scandal in the Catholic Church.

In theory, there is nothing to stop Benedict from simply drafting a letter of resignation to hand to the College of Cardinals, the electoral body of bishops who elected him.

Under Roman Canon Law, the only conditions for the validity of such a resignation are that it be made freely and be properly published.

Ratzinger's predecessors Gregory the XII and Benedict XIII resigned the papacy. And there is speculation that during WWII, Pius XII drafted a letter of resignation should he be imprisoned by the Nazis. But the records of the wartime popes remain locked down in the Vatican to this day.

In a March 18 article in NCROnline, one which has been somewhat lost in the shuffle of media events of the last few days concerning the global Catholic sex abuse crisis, theologian Hans Küng adds his significant perspective.

"Is it not time for Pope Benedict XVI himself to acknowledge his share of responsibility, instead of whining about a campaign against his person? No other person in the Church has had to deal with so many cases of abuse crossing his desk." -- Hans Küng, March 18, 2010

In a note read on Vatican radio on Saturday, Vatican spokesman/priest Federico Lombardi, said:

“The nature of the question is such as to attract the attention of the media, and the way in which the church deals with (the attention of the media) is crucial for her moral credibility.”

Victims of the church hierarchy, however, see the test of Vatican credibility in how it actually chose to respond to victims, and in that regard the pope has clearly failed.

An editorial in National Catholic Reporter yesterday says that the pope needs to come clean, once and for all.

"We now face the largest institutional crisis in centuries, possibly in church history. The Holy Father needs to directly answer questions, in a credible forum, about his role -- as archbishop of Munich (1977-82), as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (1982-2005), and as pope (2005-present) -- in the mismanagement of the clergy sex abuse crisis." -- Editorial, National Catholic Reporter March 27, 2010

Once again, the Vatican seems oblivious to victims of Roman Catholic priest predators, opting instead to save face and insulate the pope from the controversy, as evidenced in this latest front page fencing between the Vatican spin doctors and the New York Times.

We currently meet the 3rd Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. - noon, near downtown Dallas. Meeting dates are below. Please contact us at snaperin@snapnetwork.org or 469-387-9434 for the meeting location.

Remember, SNAP meetings are a safe place for survivors. You are not required to share, listening can be healing too.

February 15

March 15

April 19

May 17

June 21

July - No Meeting

August 16

September 20

October 18

November 15

December 13 (2nd Saturday) - Christmas Party

SNAP Mission

SELF HELP:

By sharing our stories, we recognize that we are not alone, and we are not guilty for what happened to us. Gradually coming to a full knowledge of this empowers us to confront the truth, and to find healthy mechanisms for healing.

EDUCATION:

We work together to educate ourselves and our communities about the effects of the abuse.

PREVENTION:

Once we learn the truth about what has happened to us, we can then use that power to bring about change. When we put our voices together, we become so strong that we can no longer not be heard.